Minimum wage surcharge

(KARE) The small Oasis Caf? near downtown Stillwater, Minnesota has found itself in the center of a large media storm after passing on a 35-cent fee to every customer's meal tab, a move to offset Minnesota's recent minimum wage hike.

Owner Craig Beemer enacted the fee after Minnesota's new minimum wage law went into effect August 1st.

"He is going to lose over $10,000 a year paying servers higher wages and that goes for every small business. Businesses trying to make it are really struggling," said Dan Herbert, an Oasis Caf? cook and server who has worked at the restaurant more than a decade.

The 75-cent minimum wage hike was first the state has seen in a decade. Herbert said while angry critics have bombarded the restaurant's Facebook page and triggered national media, the measure has also brought in more business.